Government and industry must collaborate and increase the pace of nuclear deployment if the UK is to reach net zero by 2050 and help avoid what a United Nations report called the potential catastrophe of climate change.

The Nuclear Institute, a London-based professional body, said the UK needs to deliver on its ambitions for nuclear energy, through large scale, small modular reactor and advanced modular reactor deployment. “It is widely accepted that all low-carbon sources will be needed to tackle climate change successfully and the UK is ideally placed to lead the way,” the institute said.

“Progression on financing, siting and building the capability of the UK to deliver new reactors at pace is crucial to enabling a vision of a Net Zero world with reliable, firm, clean energy.”